Belmont Station 14th Anniversary Ale - Upright Brewing Company

brystmar

New York

3.73/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Shared by Wy on his bday!

Yellow body with white head. Sulfuric aroma; pungent yeast imparts intense clove and fruit esters. Can't say I enjoy this aroma, though I don't dislike it either.

Citrus fruit, funky yeast, huge ester presence again. Lots of lacto, mild acetic tingle. A bit too much carbonation; good body though. A strange brew for sure, and I happen to like this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 05:11:36 | More by brystmar

MasterSki

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A generous soul shared this at Flossmoor Station. Served in a plastic cup.

A - White foam settles to a thick collar and wispy, near-complete cap, leaving behind spotty lace. Murky peach-colored body.

S - This smells a lot like Upright Special Herbs - you can immediately tell that they used the same Ransom Old Tom gin barrels (or even blended Special Herbs into this beer). Lots of zesty botanicals, fresh citrus, funky tropical brett, stone fruits, mild lactic acidity, and a touch of oak.

T - The taste is quite similar - quite refreshing and zesty with all the fruity elements. Lactic sourness and oak show up late and ride out the finish. Again, quite a bit like Special Herbs, but perhaps not quite as gin-forward.

M - Pleasant active carbonation, dry finish, medium-light body, and no hard alcohol presence. Didn't realize this was only 4.75%!

D - My impression based on taste and aroma alone was this was a blend of Special Herbs and some sort of Saison. Apparently I wasn't too far off the mark. Not sure it was quite as good as Special Herbs, but the lower alcohol and blending made it a bit easier to drink in large volumes.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 23:07:47 | More by MasterSki

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

pours a slightly golden hazey with off white head. The nose is lemony and spicy, lots of an herb like spice. The flavor has a fair bit of lemon up front with some strange coriander spice type deal. Overyly acidic of citrus and spice. The feel is juicy and wet, a bit syrupy and lighter on the carb side.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 13:56:22 | More by cpetrone84

UCLABrewN84

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Cavery for sharing this one at the post Bruery Reserve Society party bottle share!

Pours a murky yellow with a white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. No lacing on this one. Smell is of sour, tart, and funky aromas with some lemon-like fruits. Taste is of sour and tart citrus fruits (especially lemon) and a subtle gin flavor. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with some really nice flavors.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 00:17:18 | More by UCLABrewN84

sweemzander

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into a tulip. Thanks to Jason for the bottle!

(A)- Pours a cloudy golden apricot color. Produced a nice cap of white froth and lace.

(S)- A dry spicy, almost earthy funk. Bits of Brett and juniper berry for sure. Lots of oak, spice, and funk.

(T)- A nice combo of mild tart fruits, dry oak and spice. Finishes with some funk(Brett) and very subtle bits of the gin(Juniper).

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance to it. Good barrel characters and interesting dynamics with the gin.

(D)- An interesting try on a wild ale with using gin, but it definitely works in this quite well. Very unique.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 17:08:46 | More by sweemzander

joshuaseresse

Minnesota

4.83/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Huge thanks goes out to the ever generous black13 for this bottle, way cool Michael. Shared with brian23456 and my girlfriend. 750ml bottles poured into snifters:

A - Pours a nice hazy hay color with light golden tones. Nice carbonation and egg shell white head. Lacing is nice that sticks to the glass.

S - Nice citrus notes with lemon and orange tones and touches of herbal gin. Nice bit of funk and barnyard horse blanket.

T - A nice light sour and funk flavor that is not over the top palate destroying. Those citrus notes of lemon and orange come back with a nice apricot flavors with nice pine and light gin, which is great because I don't like gin all too much. Really great herbal notes.

M - Nice tart and a little bit drying to the mouth but at the same time refreshing, which is fantastic. Good carbonation but doesn't just explode in your mouth.

O - What a fantastic brew. Light and crisp, but just full of nice flavors that is simple and a delight to drink. Will be seeking out another bottle of this, altough given its limited availability, I don't think I'll be able to get another one. A must try however. Thanks again Michael!

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 01:11:39 | More by joshuaseresse

Gtreid

Florida

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml. bottle thanks to urwithdave.

A: Hazy yellow color. The pour dropped a big threee finger head that hung around for a while and left some spotty lace.

A: Intersting aroma. Notes of sour, earthy hops, and almost a medicinal quality, mabye from the Gin.

T: Quite interesting. I've never had a beer aged in Gin barrels, so I don't have anything to compare this to. But, the notes of the horseblanket funk plays quite well with the Gin.

M: Clean and crisp. Light body and good levels of carbonation.

O: Really nice brew. I am a fan of originality in beer, and this one hits the nail on the head.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2011 16:25:34 | More by Gtreid

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.59/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Belmont Station On 4.24.13

A - Served a cloudy light orange with a fizzy small off-white head that forms a small ring around the edges.

S - Tart, sweet citrus and very candy-like.

T - Tart lemony and sweet tarts. Very nice balance of tart and sweetness.

D - Good carbonation with a lighter body.

O - This one is still awesome, actually better than it was at the release.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2011 06:59:30 | More by HuskyinPDX

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a Mikasa tulip.

Pours a semi-hazy light apricot color with a good off-white head and really nice lacing. The nose brings forward a bit of gin and oak plus some lactic sourness and stone fruits. The flavor has gin in the background throughout. Very well integrated with the base and bacteria. Great light sourness to it with some stone fruits and a touch of oak. Light body and crisp carbonation. Slight pucker to the finish and quite dry. Another absolutely excellent beer from Upright.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 02:31:45 | More by Thorpe429

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a tulip. Thanks to bauermj for bringing this to our whale tasting.

Appearance: Quite a hazy light golden color with a thin white film and a collar around the edges.

Smell: My first whiff of this was atrocious, like moldy death. When it calms down, it has a strong juniper aroma with gin and herbal characteristics as well.

Taste: The flavor starts with some light to medium malts, then there are a lot of juniper notes, some herbal spiciness, and the lemon zest sour closes it out.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied that is lightened by the herbal spiciness. Light crisp carbonation and a firm acidity throughout.

Overall: The best thing I can say about this beer is that it is kind of weird. The juniper does not really do it for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 02:51:24 | More by KickInTheChalice

vkv822

Oregon

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into tulip snifter.

Pours a clear yellow with a frothy white head that holds a decent retention.

The aroma is funky upfront, followed closely by gin notes from the barrel aging.

The taste still has some funky nots upfront, but noticeably less than the aroma. This is followed up by a blend of gin notes, and tart lemon citric notes.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, with a crisp finish and prickly carbonation.

Another well done gin barrel-aged sour from Upright. It's been awhile sense I've had anything from them and this definitely has reminded me why I am such a fan of theirs.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2011 09:47:32 | More by vkv822

womencantsail

California

4.15/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks for the bottle, Luke!

A: The pour is a cloudy yellow color with a really tall white head.

S: A very funky nose. The gin really comes through strong as there is a very strong herbal/juniper character. A bit of a floral aroma as well as some cracker malts, citrus, and a light, lemony tartness.

T: Moderate tartness in the form of lemon and grapefruit. Lots of herbal gin flavor with a touch of lime and miscellaneous citrus zest. A nice funk note as well as strong, tannic oak.

M: Light to medium in body with a medium to high carbonation.

O: The gin barrel treatment is really interesting, but Upright seems to be doing it well.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 01:50:20 | More by womencantsail

HopHead84

California

4.1/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

8/27/2011

Thanks to Andrew for opening this at Woodshop Classix.

A: Hazy blond with a small white head that doesn't deign to linger.

S: Heavy floral notes with spruce, juniper, and orange. Oak is evident, accompanying booze, grapefruit, and grain. Apricot wafts from the glass.

T: Wheat and grain with oak and lightly tart lemon. Lactic with tangerine, spruce, and light leather notes. Finishes grainy with evident gin and juniper, as well as a light acetic note. No alcohol is apparent.

M: Medium in body with an upper moderate to lower high level of carbonation.

Overall: A unique and enjoyable sour. There's a lot going on here.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 04:50:52 | More by HopHead84

hopsbreath

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had a couple pints (honest pints) of this on tap at Belmont Station during Puckerfest over the span of a couple days. Bottles to go? Yes indeed. Review done on one of those bottles. Split with TulipSnifter in my Parra and Myers Duvel tulips.

A: Pale slightly hazy apricot body with a big fluffy white head. The head sticks around for a while and leaves lots of clumpy lacing as it recedes. Great looking beer. 5/5

S: Gin, gin, gin, tartness. Botanicals galore makes for a very unique beer. 4/5

T: Again with the gin up front and the unique juniper from the Old Tom style. I’ve got wood… From the barrel’s, get your mind out of the gutter. An honest sourness hits the pucker spots at the back of the cheeks. Floral, mineral, and citrus sums things up. 4/5

M: Thin, crisp, clean. 4/5

O: A good beer to be sure. Upright delivers another one with its anniversary offering for Belmont. Of note, the Upright 1st Anniversary beer was also on tap at Puckerfest. That was also a sour aged in gin barrels. The gin had dropped off dramatically on that one and was no longer interesting. If that is the direction this trends, I would not recommend extended aging. 4/5

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2011 08:01:29 | More by hopsbreath

dgilks

Australia

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Tried at Belmont Station on my last day in Portland.

Hazy golden colour with a small, white head. Head retention isn't bad for a sour.

Lightly tart aroma with some herbal juniper notes. Nice, especially if you like gin.

Nice, fruity tartness with some light peach and cherry notes. Well balanced.

Medium body with moderately-high carbonation. Good.

A really quite solid beer with good flavour and a nice tartness. Good balance as expected from Upright.

Serving type: on-tap

08-08-2011 10:51:36 | More by dgilks

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared with and provided by milwaukeeclassic. The man has to be in the running for most bombers via checked baggage in the modern era. Thanks, Duane!

Drank in the summer evening, backlit by Christmas lights, while listening the eclectic sounds of the bike path and the isthmus doing their collective thing.

Sunny yellow with highlights of light orange and a healthy layer of thin white snow.

Smells of funky angel food cake, orange rind, blended apricot, and light airy white frosting.

Here is where the sour asserts itself, because the nose tells no tales. Dustiness upfront transitions with slip and slide rapidity into a tart and tasty spinster. Twinge of apricot puree rides happily into the spruce laden gin finish that gets molested by a swath of Brett. Bottle informs us that this is a blend of four beers and the conglomeration of wonderful tastes seems to back this up.

Tart and snappy, this is really very enjoyable. Plus, the sub 5 percent tag makes this easy to enjoy while not crushing you under a monstrous abv. Very nice beer...thanks again douchous!

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 14:47:01 | More by BarrytheBear

oregonskibum

Oregon

4.45/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Tasted at Belmont Station on release night. This review from a 750ml bottle a couple weeks later.

A: Pours with a quickly forming, white, dense head. Slowly dissipates, leaving a thick coating of lace on the side of the glass. COlor is a golden yellow with hints of orange.

S: The gin aging comes through with lots of botanicals, a hint of juniper. There's a hint of the sourness that lays beneath, but just a hint. Also some faint citrus notes. No hops present.

T: Here's where it gets interesting. The botanical, floral flavors evident in the smell blend with sour fruitiness. Lemon, citrus flavors are still there, giving the beer a bright sharpness. Not mouth-puckering sour, but definitely sour. A dry finish with lingering sourness that gradually if replaced by some floral, gin-like notes that started the tasting. I'm finding this quite enjoyable. Maybe not quite as good as Special Herbs, but a solid gin-aged beer for sure.

M: Dry, medium to light body with ample carbonation. Hard to say what is 'in style' for this type of beer, but it works.

D/O: Nice. I'm continuing to enjoy the rash of gin-aged beers showing up locally and this is no disappointment. And with the alcohol at less than 5%, I can see enjoying this bottle for the rest of the evening.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 04:01:44 | More by oregonskibum

jdense

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Belmont Station, $2.50 for 4 oz. taster, 7.27.11.

Hazy straw yellow body, no visible carbonation, minimal white head due to full pour. Astringent, dry nose, some lemony notes, minimal hops, a bit floral. Pucker up, brother, this is one sour American Wild, much more sour than tart, but the tartness comes through in the finish, really funky, dry hay, barnyard notes. Mouthfeel is pretty light, ultra dry finish. A sipper to be sure, but a beer that will certainly please the palates of the most jaded sour beer afficionado. Not sure I could do much of this is one sitting re drinkability, but a nice way to end a prolonged tasting with uber BA John Michaelsen. Worth seeking out.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2011 15:10:38 | More by jdense

sarro

Michigan

4.47/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

"14th is a blend of several different batches of Upright’s farmhouse style wheat beer, the Four. Here’s the scoop: 8% fresh Four 12% Four aged in Ransom Old Tom Gin barrels 22% Four aged in Ransom Old Tom Gin barrels with brettanomyces claussenii and lactobacillus 58% Four aged in Ransom Old Tom Gin barrels with brettanomyces claussenii and lactobacillus with apricot puree 50% of the brett/lacto aged beer is with Upright’s usual French saison yeast, the other half is primarily fermented with yeast propagated from a De Ranke bottle. And it’s only 4.75% ABV so its a wonderfully complex dinner beer!"

Had 2 glasses (one courtesy of Chris, thanks!) of this during Puckerfest at Belmont Station in Portland, Oregon.

Pours a solid golden orange with a small, very white head.

Nose is a bit sweet and I get notes of grass, evident gin/juniper, along with some sticky sour apricot and peach in the background.

Taste is a long, mouth watering sour with slight fruit accompaniment and a dry finish. Reminds me a lot of Festina Peche, but with great barrel aged characteristics. Very Berliner-weiss like in taste and body.

ABV is listed at 4.75% and drinks like it, although a couple glasses are easy to polish off in a hot summer day and will quickly catch up to you. Still, I could easily finish a 750 by myself and I'm hardly a big drinker.

Serving type: on-tap

07-26-2011 21:55:11 | More by sarro

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Belmont Station during puckerfest.

The beer pours a bright gold color with good head retention and considerable lacing. On the nose I get some serious sour aromas, though there's not too much funk going on. There's also some hints of juniper as well, though at least for me, I don't think it's overdone or overwhelming. On the palate I get considerable lemon and lime, along with some pretty noticeable vinegar and light gin flavor. The sour component is pretty tittilating, and I get almost an electric zippiness in the finish. One thing this beer doesn't lack is plenty of flavor. The beer comes across as pretty acidic, and frankly it's pretty hard to imagine drinking a whole lot of this. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with long, lemon sour finish.

This beer would bring a smile to the face of any sour lover. At least for me, however, it was just a bit much.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2011 15:23:06 | More by johnmichaelsen